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Geisinger ready for national guests

Daily Item (Sunbury, PA)

Nov. 02--One week before a lineup of big-name speakers -- including a former presidential candidate -- descends on the Danville area, Geisinger staff members are working to put the final pieces together for their national health care symposium.

Hillary Clinton will top the list of speakers for the symposium that, in itself, is not out of the realm of the health care system to host. But the cast of presenters is of a higher-wattage than others who have come to Geisinger's home campus.

Geisinger is expected to announce additional speakers today or Friday. On Wednesday night, Wendy Wilson, Geisinger's vice president of media, confirmed that Bruce Greenstein, chief technology officer for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under President Donald Trump, will address a luncheon at the conference on the first day.

Set to take place Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of next week under a big tent at the Geisinger-owned Pine Barn Inn, the event is invitation only. About 300 health care CEOs, policymakers and other executives are invited to take part.

"We really don't anticipate traffic issues," Wilson said, noting most of those attending will stay at the Pine Barn. "Some are coming in Tuesday, some Wednesday."

She said Geisinger's events team has registered the participants online and made other arrangements.

"They're a well-oiled machine," Wilson said.

Besides Clinton, the conference will feature Dr. Dean Ornish, co-recipient of the Nobel Prize; Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel, who helped create the Affordable Care Act, and Dr. Howard Dean, a physician, former Vermont governor and former chairman of the Democratic National Committee who ran for the party's presidential nomination in 2004.

Two high-profile members of Geisinger's board of directors also are on the agenda: Gail R. Wilensky, Ph.D., an American health economist and former White House health care adviser to President George H.W. Bush who will kick off the conference on Wednesday evening, and Dr. Thomas H. Lee, chief medical officer at Press Ganey, the organization that partners with national health care organizations toward improving the safety, quality and experience of patient care.

Wilson said Greenstein will provide a national health care update at the Springboard Healthy Scranton luncheon scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at the conference.

Springboard Healthy Scranton is a newly launched Geisinger initiative that focuses on making local communities healthier with programs such as Fresh Food Pharmacy for low-income diabetes patients and genomics and opioid programs.

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Zionsville, is also expected to address the symposium by teleconference.

Wilson said Geisinger had been trying to get these and other additional speakers for some time and their addition was not in response to criticism of Clinton and other left-leaning speakers.

Geisinger on national stage

Wilson said the speakers, including Clinton, are speaking for free.

Clinton has charged $200,000 for speaking engagements in the past, according to media reports during the 2016 presidential campaign.

"We were able to attract speakers for free for a variety of reasons -- from board member connections to personal friendships," Wilson said, citing Ornish and another speaker, Judy Faulkner, founder and CEO of Epic, a leading electronic health record software company whose products Geisinger uses.

"This gathering of health care influencers puts Geisinger on a national stage and gives us an opportunity to showcase what we're doing that needs to be replicated in other communities," Wilson said. "This event not only allows us to show Geisinger off to the world, it enables us to have conversations with changemakers in government, health and wellness, clinical research, social science, technology, insurance and business. These connections help us recruit clinicians, researchers and medical students to join Geisinger, and that's great for our employees, patients and communities."

She added that with all the uncertainty in health care, it's critical for Geisinger to build relationships with state and federal elected officials and policymakers.

"Each of the nationally known speakers has waived their usual fees for our symposium," Wilson said. "The list of attendees and presenters is also a who's who of health care movers and shakers. In the audience, for example, we'll have presidents, CEOs and chief medical officers from Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Highmark Health, Press Ganey, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the National Quality Forum and the Hospital and Healthcare Association, to name just a few."

The symposium also will draw more than 30 reporters from local and national media.

Wilson said a symposium such as next week's is not unusual for an organization the size of Geisinger.

"What makes our event unique is convening all these influencers right here in Danville, where Geisinger started," she said.

Security plans in place

With the level of celebrities and attention, an important part of organizing the event is security.

Mahoning Township Police Chief Sean McGinley said he has been working closely with Geisinger's security department to plan for any scenario.

"We have had multiple meetings with Geisinger Security," McGinley said. "I'm expecting to have some dialogue with the Secret Service."

As a former first lady, Clinton still has Secret Service protection.

McGinley said he also planned to reach out to state police.

"Danville police will be were providing support for us," he said.

He wasn't sure if there would be protesters, but he said police and security had to be ready for anything.

"We would ask and expect if there are protesters, they would do so responsibly," he said. "We'll certainly be ready and have contingency plans in place."

He said Geisinger is ready too.

"I have a lot of faith and confidence in the plan they have put together already," McGinley said.